Plan approved to stop homeless camping at Kapiolani Park

Honolulu (HawaiiNewsNow) - According to the Mayor Mufi Hannemann the loophole that caused a controversy over homeless camping in Kapiolani Park has been closed. The city announced it will remove campers in the park every night from 2:00 to 5:00 a.m. every morning.

There's been a back and forth between the city and the homeless. Overnight camping is not allowed in Kapiolani Park but about 40 homeless found a loophole and set up tents along a six foot strip of grass between the sidewalk and Kalakaua Avenue. But now city attorney's say that land is in fact park property.

Wednesday Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann approved ongoing maintenance and beautification work there. That means police officers will go through and remove campers between along that entire stretch of Kalakaua Avenue.

"I am giving my approval today to move quickly to be able to get to a better place their in Waikiki," said Mayor Hannemann.

The mayor says the campers were creating a growing health and safety problem and he says he hopes this will remove the things cluttering the area. The mayor says this is an extension of a beautification project started in March. It starts tonight and will continue indefinitely.